Chapter 150: The Curse of Shiva

"As for Chen Muye..." Yuan Gang lightly tapped the desk with his fingers. "To be honest, I don't really know what happened back then."

"About twelve years ago, after Chen Muye left the new recruit training camp, he and another genius were recruited into a Night Watch squad in Shangjing. Their Forbidden Ruins sequences were incredibly rare, and complemented each other. At the time, other special squads tried to recruit them, but the Commander-in-Chief overruled them and placed them in the Shangjing squad.

Chen Muye's Forbidden Ruin was Black Wuchang (Sequence 037), and the other person, who is now the leader of the Shangjing squad, Shao Pingge, had White Wuchang (Sequence 038). Because of their Forbidden Ruins, they were collectively known as the Black and White Wuchang of Shangjing."

"Black Wuchang and White Wuchang?" Lin QiYe's eyes showed a trace of confusion. "I've always wondered who came up with these names. Do they have anything to do with the Black and White Wuchang from the myths of Daxia?"

"I don't know either. The origins of these Forbidden Ruins go way back, and the related documents are classified at the highest level within the Night Watch. With my clearance, I can't even access them," Yuan Gang shook his head, continuing, "They trained in the Shangjing squad for two years, but one day, Chen Muye seemed to have received some special orders, and the next day, he disappeared from Shangjing.

At that time, I hadn't yet joined the Shangjing Night Watch, but I heard that Shao Pingge and the others went to the Commander-in-Chief to ask what happened. The Commander-in-Chief simply said it was a matter of confidentiality and refused to disclose anything.

At that time, everyone was preoccupied with the so-called End of the World Calamity. It wasn't until much later that they finally started searching for Chen Muye's whereabouts, only to find... he had come to Cangnan City and became a squad leader!

I heard Shao Pingge say that he had visited Cangnan several times to persuade Chen Muye to return, but was rejected each time. After several attempts, Shao Pingge gave up and returned to Shangjing, eventually becoming the leader of the Shangjing squad."

After hearing Yuan Gang's account, Lin QiYe frowned. The information Yuan Gang had was limited, and the key parts were missing, giving the entire situation a mysterious vibe...

"You mentioned the End of the World Calamity earlier. What exactly is that?" Lin QiYe asked in confusion.

"It's a Forbidden Object, the most terrifying one in history," Yuan Gang took a deep breath. "Its name is Shiva's Curse."

"Shiva? The Hindu god of destruction?" Lin QiYe's eyes widened.

"Yes. Shiva's Curse is an ancient sheepskin scroll with a Sequence 008 world-ending level Forbidden Ruin. As long as you write a name on the blank part of the scroll, the concept associated with that name will be directly destroyed."

Lin QiYe froze. "Like the Death Note?"

"Not even close," Yuan Gang shook his head. "The Death Note can only kill the person whose name is written in it, but Shiva's Curse can destroy much more than just a person.

For example, if you wrote the two characters 'Daxia' on that sheepskin scroll..."

Lin QiYe's eyes suddenly widened in realization. "Then...?"

"It would erase the entire concept of Daxia from existence. That is, it would destroy the nation!" Yuan Gang's voice grew incredibly somber.

"How could such a ridiculous Forbidden Object exist?" Lin QiYe gasped, unable to suppress his astonishment.

To think that the top ten Forbidden Ruins could wield such terrifying power—this was well beyond the scope of Forbidden Ruins.

"Of course, that's just in theory." Yuan Gang paused, then continued, "Though this Forbidden Object is powerful, activating it consumes an immense amount of spiritual energy. Even writing the name of an ordinary person on it, like in Death Note, would drain the strength of a powerful Chuanjing-level warrior. Doing something as extreme as destroying a nation would be virtually impossible."

"Then, if it's like that, the threat doesn't seem all that great. Why is it called the End of the World Calamity?" Lin QiYe asked, still puzzled.

Yuan Gang slowly closed his eyes. "Just because humans can't do it, doesn't mean gods can't... If divine power is infused into this Forbidden Object, although it might not destroy an entire nation, destroying a city would be a breeze.

After Shiva's Curse appeared, several malevolent gods wandering in the Mist coveted it. To seize the sheepskin scroll, a divine war broke out ten years ago."

"A divine war?!" Lin QiYe's eyes widened in shock.

"Yes, five of humanity's strongest warriors gathered at the Daxia border to fight Loki, the god of trickery from Northern Europe, and Gaia, the Greek goddess of the earth. The battle shook the heavens and the earth."

"And then?" Lin QiYe leaned forward, eager for more details.

"Then? Then I don't know." Yuan Gang shrugged helplessly. "I'm just the deputy leader of the Shangjing Night Watch. I'm not some high-ranking figure. How would I know about top-secret matters like this?

Anyway, after that, the higher-ups in the Night Watch never mentioned Shiva's Curse again."

"…Alright."

Lin QiYe sighed in frustration. Just as he was about to hear something crucial, the story suddenly ended. It felt like he couldn't catch his breath, his body tensing with unfulfilled curiosity.

"I've told you everything I know about those two, and I even gave you the story of Shiva's Curse. The two million should be transferred to your bank account in a couple of days. I'll take this Forbidden Object and send it to the Night Watch headquarters tomorrow."

Yuan Gang reached out, taking the Blood Boiling Forbidden Object from Lin QiYe, then said slowly.

Lin QiYe glanced at the time, stood up, saluted Yuan Gang, and turned to leave.

Yuan Gang sat back in his office chair, watching Lin QiYe's departing figure, letting out a long sigh.

At the same time, in a certain instructor's home.

Books and papers were scattered all over the floor, densely packed and completely covering the original dark brown floor. Amidst the piles of books, Instructor Gu lowered his head, deeply studying a book in his hands. Occasionally, he would pause to ponder, furrowing his brow...

"The reality of this world... is it real? Is it fake... No, this isn't right... something's wrong..."

Instructor Gu frowned deeply, putting down the book in his hands. He rubbed his aching back, his eyes bloodshot. He looked extremely haggard.

"Forget it, I'll just sleep for a bit."

He glanced at the time and muttered to himself.

Instructor Gu slowly stood up from the floor, climbed into bed, and let out a long sigh, closing his eyes...

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

Half a minute later, he suddenly jerked awake, sitting up abruptly, scratching his head frantically...

"Aaaahhh! Damn it! Is this world real?"

"Is it?"

"Is it not?!"

"Aaaahhhh!!"